I agree that Trump won in 2020.
No one will convince me that a post-turtle beat Trump.
He still could have countered without looking weak or attacking Trump/MAGA.
Pivoting is an art form most people don’t master, but it works.
For example, Trump goes after DeSantis by claiming Ron was struggling until Trump helped him out.
Ron responds, “I appreciated the help President Trump gave me and always will (pivot). I used that opportunity to show the country what can be done under my strong, steady leadership (inserts 3 talking point accomplishments).”
There’s the soundbite. That’s the X, rumble, etc.
No disrespect to Trump/MAGA. Now if Trump comes back with the same line of attack, he looks petty.
But that ship has sailed. As you mentioned, he started going after Trump on policy...when implementing sound policy, in the face of enemies on all fronts, was Trump’s strong suit.
You make a valid point. DeSantis might have lasted longer if he had done as you suggest. But either way, he was still going to have a hard time convincing people that his performance as governor demonstrated greater executive and leadership ability than Trump’s performance as president. And if DeSantis went too far down that road it would eventually lead to him criticizing Trump for things like not completing the wall, and bad hires etc.
In fact, that’s exactly where DeSantis ended up going, and it was his downfall for a number of reasons, not the least being that it required him to ignore all the obstructionism that Trump faced and that he didn’t. In short, it made him look small (no pun intended) and petty.